-The Hindu The transfer of the RBI’s surplus is only a stopgap measure which will not address the key problem of a lack of demand There is no longer any room for doubt on the parlous state of the Indian economy. The automobile industry, seen as a bellwether of activity in the post-liberalisation years, is in crisis, as automakers, parts manufacturers and dealers have laid off about 350,000 workers since April this...

-Newsclick.in It’s just a parlour trick to disguise financing of government spending that does not appear in the formal Budget. We all know by now, that economic activity in this country has come to a grinding halt. That’s not just bad for our earnings, but also for the Government of India (GoI). Because, when people don’t buy or sell things, or even produce them, the government doesn’t get enough taxes. So, economists...

-TheWire.in Instead of giving freebies to the affluent, Sitharaman should have announced additional government spending in MNREGA and plans for filling vacancies in government jobs. After holding out for seven weeks, following her maiden Budget, Nirmala Sitharaman finally blinked. For about a month now, pink papers and business-friendly pundits had been crying foul about India Inc’s shrinking sales. But, since you can’t sell a sob story about the rich, it was spun to...

-Scroll.in Democracy requires a national character that isn’t grounded in ignorance and government policy that is not a sophisticated version of Whatsapp. It is now clear – 1,020 days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi told India he was wiping out 85% of its currency, by value – that demonetisation was not just a failure but a spectacularly misconceived move. That its destructive effects took at least 100 lives in its immediate aftermath,...

-The Indian Express The emerging consensus within India Inc. on the need for a government-led stimulus notwithstanding, the Centre has limited fiscal space given the lower tax collections. The Budget was a missed opportunity in terms of signalling reforms New Delhi: India Inc’s clamour for a stimulus to restart the investment cycle points to a near unanimous view within the industry — that government has to do the heavy lifting first...